After performances in Monaco and Paris, the Russian star soprano Anna Netrebko, who was criticized for her hesitant attitude towards Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, wants to sing in Germany again. According to a statement on Friday, she and her husband Yusif Eyvazov will be coming to Regensburg, the Cologne Philharmonic and the Hamburg Elbphilharmonie later this year for concerts. Performances in Frankfurt am Main, Vienna and Malmö are to follow in the coming year.
After the beginning of the war, Netrebko temporarily withdrew from concert life. Several opera houses had canceled performances by her. In Paris, the 50-year-old was enthusiastically celebrated on Wednesday evening after her concert in the Philharmonie. She had interpreted works by Sergei Rachmaninoff, Claude Debussy and Peter Tchaikovsky. The Ukrainian embassy reacted to the appearance with severe criticism. That the concert could take place is outrageous. The discord between French public opinion supporting Ukraine and the hypocrisy of the audience applauding the “Kremlin soprano” is sad, the diplomatic mission said on Twitter. A few dozen demonstrators had demonstrated against the concert in front of the Paris Philharmonie.
Netrebko was already on the stage of the Monte Carlo Opera in Monaco last month. After the start of the war in Ukraine on February 24, Netrebko initially showed hesitation, but then expressly condemned the war against Ukraine. Netrebko lives mainly in Austria.
The German soprano Diana Damrau (50) warned against prejudice against Netrebko. “In Russia she was always celebrated as a folk hero, it should be clear to everyone that this super world star is the best figurehead of all. But none of us know what pressure Anna Netrebko was and is exposed to,” Damrau told the “Augsburger Allgemeine” (Saturday edition ). “But the possibility should be considered and not hastily broken the baton over someone. Besides, she distanced herself,” added Damrau. (dpa)